[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 29, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




STATEMENT BY KELLEY WILLIAMS, RYAN DRISCOLL, AND PATRICK WEBSTER ON GUN 
                                CONTROL

                                 ______


                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 29, 1996

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, for the benefit of my colleagues I would 
like to have printed in the Record this statement by Kelley Williams, 
Ryan Driscoll, and Patrick Webster, high school students from Vermont. 
They were speaking at my recent town meeting on issues facing young 
people.

       Patrick: Our topic was on gun control, and as Ryan's going 
     to tell you, we have four specific things we think need to be 
     improved on gun control.
       Ryan: We think that Congress should increase regulations 
     by: having a 6 month waiting period; no sales to persons 
     under 25; there should be more safety features on guns; there 
     should be required gun education programs.
       (Dialogue with alternating speakers): If nothing's done 
     about this rising problem, the ownership will continue to 
     increase from the current estimated 150 million to 175 
     million firearms.
       The ATF estimates that there are 52 million handguns 
     circulating in the U.S., and 2 million more bought each year.
       About 2 million handguns were manufactured in the U.S. in 
     1989.
       It's estimated that 135,000 students each day now carry 
     guns to school.
       One out of six pediatricians have treated a young gunshot 
     victim.
       80% of homicide victims knew their killers as a relative or 
     friend?
       Of 12,000 men and women who have committed suicide, nearly 
     60% used handguns.
       We've got some statistics that we're going to put on the 
     overhead. The first one shows the amount of gun distribution 
     and how much it's gone up from 1988-91, and it's still 
     rising.
       The second graph shows that guns are becoming more and more 
     commonplace in today's society. This is from a school in Los 
     Angeles, from students, showing: people carrying guns in the 
     last 30 days, carrying guns to school in the past year, if 
     they've shot a gun at someone, if they were shot in the past 
     year, or if they know someone who has been killed or injured 
     by gunfire.
       The most important fact to us Vermonters: over 41% of gun 
     accidents in Vermont involved handguns.

                          ____________________